Free Winter Break Activities for Kids This December

Free winter break activities for kids this December do exist, and the biggest ones are national: free Santa photos at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, free admission at every Smithsonian museum and the National Zoo, and a free in-store Kids Workshop at The Home Depot on the first Saturday of the month. City parks departments add their own free programming, and New York's runs right through the school break. The catch is in the details.

Some of these need a reservation, some run only on specific dates, and at least one widely assumed freebie — a fee-free day at a national park — is not available in December at all. Here is what is actually free, when, and what each one requires.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 13, 2026.

Free Santa photos, with a reservation window worth knowing

Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's are running the 18th annual Santa's Wonderland, and every family gets a free 4x6 studio-quality photo with Santa plus a free shareable video. According to the Bass Pro Shops announcement, it runs daily from Nov. 8 through Christmas Eve at U.S.

and Canadian stores, which covers the first days of most winter breaks. Reservations are free and can be booked up to seven days ahead at basspro.com/santa or cabelas.com/santa. Walk-ins are taken first-come, first-served, so the reservation is the difference between a short wait and a long one on a December Saturday.

Understand the line between free and paid here: the 4x6 print and the video cost nothing, but additional photo packages are sold, with CLUB members getting 20% off. The Santa's Wonderland event page is the place to confirm your store's hours before driving out.

What else is free at Santa's Wonderland in December

The photo is not the only free piece. Bass Pro Shops lists a Bass Sticker-By-Number craft sheet available Nov. 30 through Dec.

18, which is a quiet, low-cost way to fill twenty minutes with a younger child. There is also "Christmas Tales," a story time with Santa and Mrs. Claus at 5 p.m.

each Tuesday through Dec. 22, followed by a photo for participating families. In December that means Dec.

8, Dec. 15 and Dec. 22 — the last one landing squarely in most school breaks.

Both add-ons are described on the company's own Santa's Wonderland story page. Treat the 5 p.m. story time as a scheduled event, not a drop-in: arriving at 5:30 means arriving after it.

The Smithsonian is free all break except one day

Every Smithsonian museum and the National Zoo charges no general admission, with the single exception of Cooper Hewitt in New York City. The Smithsonian's museums page also notes that the museums are open every day of the year except Dec. 25, so the entire school break is covered but for Christmas Day itself.

Free is not the same as walk-in, though. The National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Zoo both require free timed-entry passes, released up to 60 days ahead with a same-day batch each morning, per the Smithsonian's hours and passes information. The Natural History and American History museums need no ticket at all.

A practical plan for a D.C. break: book the timed-entry sites as far ahead as you can, and keep the no-ticket museums as your backup for the day a pass does not come through.

A free Home Depot workshop on one Saturday

The Home Depot's in-store Kids Workshops are free for ages 5 to 12 and run the first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon while supplies last — in December 2026 that is Dec. 5, just before most breaks begin.

Tools and materials are provided, and registration is advised. Each child takes home the finished project along with an orange apron, an achievement pin and a certificate, according to The Home Depot's Kids Workshop page. "While supplies last" is the real limit: arriving at 11:45 is not the same as arriving at 9.

Free city programming, using New York as the example

NYC Parks' Urban Park Rangers are running "Kids Week" programming from Dec. 28 to Dec. 31, 2026 — animal tracking hikes, fire making, campfire story time, birdfeeder building and nature puppet shows across the boroughs.

The Rangers state that all of their events are free, and the schedule lives on the Urban Park Rangers page. NYC Parks is also offering free swimming lessons at city recreation centers, with a winter session listed for Dec. 14 to Dec.

28, 2026 on its Learn to Swim page. That overlaps the school break directly, which matters because lesson sessions usually fill before they start. If you are not in New York, the transferable move is the same: check your own parks department's event calendar for the last week of December, because that is when holiday-break programming is scheduled and posted.

One assumption to drop before you plan around it

Families often pencil in a free national park visit over the holidays. That does not work this year: the National Park Service's 2026 entrance-fee-free calendar has eight dates, ending with Veterans Day on Nov. 11, and none fall in December.

Worth adding: even on a fee-free day, the waiver covers entrance only. Camping, tours and permits were never included, so a "free" park day still carries costs if your plan involves any of those. The Park Service's fee-free day listing is where the calendar is published.

Parks with no entrance fee at all remain free in December, as they are year-round.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to buy a photo package at Santa's Wonderland?

No. Bass Pro Shops states every family gets a free 4x6 photo and a free shareable video; larger packages are optional purchases, discounted 20% for CLUB members.

Can we visit Smithsonian museums on Christmas Day?

No. The Smithsonian notes its museums are open every day of the year except Dec. 25, so plan that one day around something else.

What age do kids need to be for the Home Depot workshop?

The workshops are listed as free for ages 5 to 12, run 9 a.m. to noon on the first Saturday of the month, while supplies last.